


winter tucks her children in, her fragile china dolls

by actuallynotalex



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (not super explicit but still mentioned), Canon Compliant, Crimson Flower Route, Cuddling & Snuggling, Edeleth, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Fluff, Hot Springs & Onsen, Nudity, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Rating May Change, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter, i took canon and carefully shaped it like clay into a vessel for my lesbianism, literally sickening amounts of fluff, mentions of other bleagles students and also sylvain once, no beta we die like Glenn, this is an au where thermophilic bacteria dont exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21944350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actuallynotalex/pseuds/actuallynotalex
Summary: A small detour is made on the way to Fhirdiad.-----“Do you mind walking?”“What, dare I ask,” Edelgard smiled despite herself, “are we walking to?”In response, Byleth pulled her leg over and slid off her horse, stepping down into shin-high snow. She shuffled over and offered a hand up to Edelgard, her other hand still fisted in her horse’s reins.“A little surprise, my love.”
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 7
Kudos: 166





	winter tucks her children in, her fragile china dolls

_We never would have taken Faerghus_ , Edelgard thought idly as her hands froze into shape around the reins, _had we known it was going to be this blasted cold._

The end of the year was fast approaching, and winter with it. Ever since the end of the war, it has felt like time was passing unceremoniously fast, in a flurry of paperwork and council meetings and hearings. Edelgard rarely even saw her Empress these days – Byleth, the ceremonial head of what remained of the Church of Seiros, had been travelling between Enbarr and Garreg Mach more and more frequently as traditional faith ceremonies ramped up around the end of the year. Their main respite continued to be in the dark of their bedroom. They could only truly rest away from their duties when the two of them collapsed into bed in each others’ arms.

At least this trip was one they could take together. As a symbol of the successful Adrestian-Faerghan Unification, the Emperor and her Empress had been cordially invited to a year-end celebration in Fhirdiad. Edelgard was… acceptable at extravagance. Parties dripping in gold and gemstones were always Ferdinand’s specialty, his glowing smile and peals of laughter keeping any social event flowing; greasing palms and manipulating dinner conversation into a subtle political manoeuvre was always Hubert’s domain. Even Byleth had some sort of solemn grace and poignant observations that made conversations feel deeply personal, no matter the context.

Edelgard was good at – well, what she had been trained for as the future Emperor. Looking beautiful and saying what the people wanted to hear. A figurehead. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Edelgard had hoped these sorts of parties would die out with the structured nobility – unfortunately, though the Crest nobility no longer held any power, their custom-crafted jewelry and chandeliers did. _The people still need their fun_ , Edelgard could hear Dorothea chastising her for the hundredth time. _Everybody wants to dance and feel special!_ It’s the same reasoning for why the Church of Seiros still existed at all – people needed the comfort and spiritual security of what they know. Edelgard, for one, was not about to deny the civilians of war their comfort. Her people had done so much for Adrestia, for Fódlan. It was the least she could do to ensure they had all the joy they deserved.

 _Although, I do wish they had chosen a warmer climate in which to pursue their joy_.

Faerghus was cold – Edelgard had always known that much. But she knew it in a tangential, distant way; she had only ever visited during the summer months, and had taken it somewhat with a grain of salt whenever Sylvain had talked about the bitter cold of his home territory. This, though – this was _cold_. Though she was bundled in layers of the finest furs and a Bernadetta-knitted scarf shielded her nose and mouth from the cold, Edelgard’s eyes still stung as the icy wind delivered snowflakes that caught on her eyelashes. Her poor horse, white as the snow they crunched through, was braving the storm like a champion, keeping them en route for the capital.

On her left, a galloping shape came into view, falling into rhythm with Edelgard’s horse. Though her face was equally obscured by a hand-knitted scarf and carefully fitted hood, Byleth tilted her head in a manner that Edelgard could easily read to mean ‘come here’, as she angled the reins to bring her horse to a slower trot. Edelgard followed suit; when Byleth started to lead her horse carefully off the beaten path, Edelgard took a moment to wave for their packhorses and escorts to wait at a distance. Edelgard felt her palms start to get just a touch clammy, in the way they always did when she was afraid she was about to get bad news. _Do we have to turn around? Is everybody at home alright? Is Byleth sick, or injured, or angry?_

Luckily, that brief flash of childish panic evaporated as soon as she fell into step beside Byleth, who shifted the reins so one of her hands was free to pull down the front of her scarf to reveal cold-reddened cheeks and a crooked smile. That smile never stopped being a wonder; over their years together, Byleth had slowly become more expressive, learning what it was like to feel your heart flutter in excitement and pound tightly with fear. Feelings she had experienced – Byleth had explained one night, with her ear pressed up against Edelgard’s bare chest – but never really _felt_. Not like this. Byleth had even began to design her own expressions instead of mimicking those of people around her; a wide-eyed mouth-open huff of laughter when the cat on her lap started to gnaw on her decorative baubles, or, Edelgard’s personal favourite, a crooked teeth-baring grin when Byleth was struck with excitement. This one was reserved for Edelgard, she had noticed, specifically –and it still made something in Edelgard’s chest leap with love – when Byleth was excited to show something to her wife. Like now.

“What is it, my light?” Edelgard asked, pulling down her scarf with one hand so she could be heard over the wind and the crunch of snow underfoot. She guided the horse to a stop, and Byleth did the same, still beaming.

“Look, in that cluster of trees to the north. Do you see that fog?” Byleth said, pointing her gloved hand to something just over the crest of the hill they were on. To be honest, everything looked like fog – the snowfall reduced the horizon to a hazy white, with only dark trees breaking up the ground and the sky. But Edelgard did quickly ascertain what her wife was pointing at. Through the trees, a faint plume of fog was visible, quickly tapering off as it rose and dissipated into the forest.

“Yes. What… is it?” Edelgard asked, trying to figure it out. _Too thin for smoke. And if it was, why would someone be out in this storm? Clearly not a low cloud, as it’s vanishing too quickly…_

“Come, let’s go see!” Byleth laughed, a breathless, gasping laugh that Edelgard would like to hear until her dying moment. Edelgard furrowed her eyebrows, still not having figured out what the cloud was. Byleth clearly saw her confusion, but just waved her hand and started to guide her horse forwards. “I know you’ll enjoy it, my heart, just trust me!”

As Byleth began to trot towards the crest of the hill, Edelgard shook her head in pleasant wonder, knowing she would follow her beloved to the end of the earth. So she pulled her scarf up over her face once more, waved for their convoy to follow, and started off after her.

Since the start of their journey, the snow had changed. Edelgard was mildly surprised that snow _could_ change – it’s all the same crystals, yet it has somehow managed to take on a multitude of shapes and qualities. When they first entered this Faerghan storm front, the snow was pellet-like and stinging, hard little droplets of ice insistent on pinging off the exposed sliver of Edelgard’s cheeks. But now it had changed into light, fluffy clusters of snowflakes, still being blown around rather quickly by the wind but drifting into a gentle, powdery layer on top of the older snow. It twirled around her, shaped by the careful fingers of the wind, and catching on the few tendrils of her hair that had fallen loose from her winter hat.

Edelgard was so caught up in her musings about the snow that she almost didn’t notice that they had reached the crest of the hill, until she was faced with a front of trees and Byleth’s horse stopped in front of it.

“Well?” Edelgard asked, bringing her horse to a stop in front of the treeline.

“I think these woods might be too dense for the horses to navigate,” Byleth mused, reaching forwards to pet thoughtfully at the exposed neck of her horse. She then turned to look at Edelgard, eyes flickering with mischief. “Do you mind walking?”

“What, dare I ask,” Edelgard smiled despite herself, “are we walking to?”

In response, Byleth pulled her leg over and slid off her horse, stepping down into shin-high snow. Luckily, they were both wearing tall and water-resistant boots, but Edelgard could imagine with dread the amount of snow that could get in once they started moving. Byleth shuffled over and offered a hand up to Edelgard, her other hand still fisted in her horse’s reins.

“A little surprise, my love,” Byleth smiled in that stunning, crooked manner again, wiggling her fingers to encourage Edelgard to climb down. “It isn’t that much further. The convoy can wait here with the horses.”

Edelgard glanced down into the woods before them – sure enough, the plume of fog was distinct now, and coming from what looked like a clearing a bit further in.

“I suppose there isn’t much of a choice, now that you’ve led me this far,” Edelgard said, and Byleth did a little fist-pump in the air, like when a meal she had worked hard on finally came to fruition. Edelgard organized her plethora of winter skirt layers and carefully swung her legs over the side of the horse. She placed her smaller hand in Byleth’s and hopped down. Byleth laughed as Edelgard shrieked – the snow came up further on her shorter legs, and she had to hike up her skirts almost to her knees to keep them from dragging in the snow.

“Lead the way,” Edelgard said, handing off the reins to the confused footman who was leading their convoy. To him, Edelgard muttered “Hold this area – we will be back in fifteen minutes.”

“Forty,” Byleth corrected, tugging on Edelgard’s sleeve like an excited child.

“Forty,” Edelgard repeated with a smile.

With that, the two of them set off through the woods, hand in hand. They giggled like fools as they shuffled through the snowy underbrush, steadying themselves on trees and getting closer and closer to the enticing rise of fog. With the snow and the trees, it was quiet under the canopy – the only noises being the whistling of the wind through the branches and the swish of their winter garments. It felt insulated, magical; isolated from the outside world and the responsibility of managing a continent. Edelgard could see the appeal of living a quiet life in the wilderness, with only her beloved and their breath crystalizing in the air before them.

“Alright. Close your eyes,” Byleth commanded, moving to stand in front of Edelgard and block her view of whatever was just ahead.

“That seems… extremely dangerous,” Edelgard said, glancing down at the uneven snow underfoot. But Byleth shook her head, holding out her hands.

“It will just be a couple steps. Please?”

How could Edelgard say no to that? She put her hand in Byleth’s and tentatively, trustingly, closed her eyes.

Byleth’s movements were easy enough to track, and Edelgard carefully, haltingly, followed, huffing out a laugh when she almost slipped but was quickly steadied by Byleth’s hand on her elbow. Sure enough, it was only a couple steps until Byleth moved again – she stood in front of Edelgard and moved her hands up to cradle Edelgard’s rosy cheeks. A second later, Byleth’s lips pressed onto her own for a chaste kiss. Edelgard laughed in surprise against Byleth’s mouth and kissed back, but Byleth just as quickly pulled away, leaving Edelgard laughing into the frosty air.

“And…” Byleth’s footsteps shuffled off to her right and her hands pulled away. “Open!”

Obediently, Edelgard opened her eyes.

Before them lay what appeared to be a series of small ponds. Out of them rose wispy clouds of steam, rising off the water as it trickled from some unseen source and between the pools before disappearing into the ground. The boulders surrounding the ponds were notably bare of snow, as was some parts of the ground nearby. The snow mingled with the steam in enticing swirls, floating down and melting into the clear blue-tinted water.

“Is this… a spring?” Edelgard asked, shuffling forwards to peer closer. Byleth bounded to her side like an excited puppy.

“A hot spring, yes!”

“How did you know it was here?”

“My father and I,” Byleth’s eyes crinkled fondly, glancing towards the water – “We would sometimes go through mountains on our travels. Any time we saw a hot spring, he would make us stop and soak.”

“Oh, my light,” Edelgard hummed, stepping forwards to her wife. She tugged on Byleth’s coat lapels until she leaned down, where Edelgard pressed a kiss to her cheek. “It’s beautiful.”

“Just wait until you get in,” Byleth grinned. Her hair was poking out of her hat, pale green strands threatening to fall in her eyes.

“We’re getting in?” Edelgard asked, almost unsure if it was a joke. _Surely we couldn’t just… go in? This is probably_ someone’s _private property…_

“Of course,” Byleth nodded, starting to move towards a clear and relatively dry patch under a nearby tree. “Why go to a hot spring if not to soak in it?”

Edelgard almost began to protest, but Byleth tugged on her hand and Edelgard had to put all her focus on not letting her skirts get caught up in the snow as their laughter filled the air. They came to a stop at the edge of the water, hand in hand and giggling breathlessly.

“This is the worst part,” Byleth said, taking her hand back and starting to unwind her scarf. Edelgard watched in wonder as Byleth slowly started unwrapping layers of winter clothes. It took a comically long time, of course, but eventually Byleth was hopping on one foot as she struggled to pull off her last boot. She was left in her underclothes – some utilitarian affair, black tightly-woven fabric keeping her chest in check for painless horse riding. Edelgard felt the embarassed urge to look away, as if she were seeing something unbecoming, and not her beloved in a… relatively modest state. But something about the snowflakes melting onto Byleth’s skin and settling on her hair in a snowy halo felt too pure, almost as if Edelgard wasn’t worthy of witnessing something so tender. Byleth finally got the last boot off, then glanced around and hooked her thumb under the waistband of her underwear. Edelgard’s eyes went wide and she stepped forwards, her hands out in some kind of cautionary gesture.

“My light, you can’t just get – ah – undressed, here,” Edelgard stuttered, gazing along the path they came from, as if she could see any of their convoy from here. “What if someone saw us…?”

Byleth grinned. “Nobody is out in this storm. Besides, we don’t want these getting wet, do we?”

And with that, Byleth slid down her underwear, stepping out of them and then beginning to work off her bra. Edelgard looked anywhere but at Byleth, knowing that her face was flushed hot, and she didn’t really know what to do with her hands. _I wonder what the wildlife is like in this part of Faerghus?_ Despite her best efforts to distract herself, Edelgard’s attention was drawn by the sound of water splashing and her wife making an almost obscene moan. She looked over to see Byleth sliding into the water, her bare skin flushed pink at the shoulders, turning around to smile luxuriously at Edelgard. She was a vision of beauty and strength, reminiscent of the mythical nymphs of lore, breathtaking maidens who emerged from crystal-clear ponds with words of wisdom and mischief. The edges of Byleth’s hair were already wet and sticking to her neck, and under the water – _well._ Every part of Edelgard’s beloved was stunning.

“Are you going to join me?” Byleth asked, drifting to the edge of the pool, submerged up to her neck. Edelgard crouched down beside her and looked into the water.

“I… my dear, you know I don’t swim,” Edelgard said, bunching her fists in her skirts. A brief worry of water filling her mouth and nose, of what it would feel like to drown in hot water instead of icy cold, flashed in her mind.

“It isn’t deep,” Byleth reassured her, sitting comfortably on the bottom as if to demonstrate. “It’s like a hot bath. And – it feels _amazing.”_

Flames knew that Edelgard could use a hot bath right about now – the tension of organizing and riding and _ruling_ was leaving knots in her shoulders, no matter how much Petra-gifted herbal lotion Edelgard massaged in. And the sight of Byleth smiling at her from in the water, haloed in snowflakes and steam – well, how could Edelgard resist?

Byleth cheered gently as Edelgard stood with a smile and began to tug at her scarf. It took some effort to take off all the layers – as usual, Edelgard’s dress was more feminine and, consequently, infinitely more complicated to put on and remove. Carefully, she undid and folded up several layers of waistcoats and skirts, finally stripping out of her fleece-lined leggings and leather boots. She was left in her simple red underclothes, with what now felt like a silly detail of a tiny ribbon bow between the cups of her bra. Goosebumps prickled on her arms and she fought hard not to shiver; all that was left was the underclothes. Byleth was right – she didn’t want to get these wet, at least not if she planned on being comfortable and not freezing for the last leg of their travel.

She hazarded a glance back over her shoulder to see Byleth staring at her with those almost unsettlingly bright eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

“Something the matter?” Edelgard asked, wrapping her arms over her chest to try and keep some body heat.

“You’re enchanting,” Byleth said plainly, tilting her head and letting a couple more strands of hair dip into the water. “You look like every portrait of a saint, and more.”

Edelgard rolled her eyes in faux exasperation, but she felt her heart stutter in that now-commonplace manner. _Like you’re one to talk, my patron saint of purifying flame._ “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now –” Byleth flicked a bit of water at Edelgard, who gasped and skittered out of the way. “—get out of those things and join me!”

Edelgard laughed at Byleth’s brazen command, but took it to heart. With one fruitless glance around the silent forest, Edelgard stripped off her underwear and tossed them on the rest of her abandoned clothes, then quickly undid her bra and did the same. Now completely exposed, some sort of white-hot thrill shot through Edelgards’s body, making her cross her arms over her chest with a breathless laugh. Before she could second-guess herself – _it was already far too late for that –_ she scampered over to the edge of the pond and began to ease herself in before she succumbed to hypothermia.

The water was – and Edelgard didn’t say this lightly – _divinely_ warm. Hot enough to flush her skin pink where it came in contact, but not so hot that Edelgard couldn’t submerge herself relatively quickly. She could almost feel the heat dissolving the tension in her shoulders. She sighed as she relaxed into the water, her eyes falling closed, and she heard Byleth splash over to her side.

“Good, right?” Byleth muttered in her ear, grazing her fingers against Edelgard’s arm. Edelgard hummed in response, and slid Byleth’s hand down her arm to interlock their fingers.

“It’s lovely,” Edelgard whispered. The feeling of the snowflakes sprinkling on her face, contrasted with the heat of the water and the steam rising around her, was a fascinating and wonderful sensation. “I suddenly remember why I chose you as my partner.”

Byleth laughed in that beautiful, hiccupping giggle, and tilted her head into the crook of Edelgard’s neck, nestling there with a contented sigh. Edelgard cracked her eyes open lazily, watching the snowflakes float down through the treetops and get blown around playfully. Somewhere out in the woods, a bird sang a solitary note, but it was quickly answered by another bird’s call, muffled in the insulation of winter air. It was impossibly peaceful, a kind of bone-deep peace that Edelgard never would have thought possible when she was surrounded by the flames of war or the poisoned fingers of the old Church.

“This is what we fought for, my heart,” Byleth said softly, as if she had read Edelgard’s mind. Edelgard would never cease in her admiration for how Byleth was able to cut to the core of any situation, to pull apart the fabric of a conversation and tease out the important threads. “We earned the right to lie here, like this.”

“Of course.”

“…Wet and naked,” Byleth continued, and Edelgard snorted, caught off guard. “Like infants, but better able to keep our heads above water.”

“You’re impossible,” Edelgard laughed, pulling Byleth’s shoulders and turning her around so they were face to face, Byleth backing Edelgard against the smooth stone of the edge of the pool.

“You’re right,” Byleth agreed, voice but a murmur. “I much prefer this adult version of you.”

All at once, Edelgard was aware of how their thighs were loosely interlocked, and how Byleth’s chest was pressing against her own, and how they were both exceptionally naked, in a random pool in the woods. She hoped fervently that Byleth would attribute the growing red on her cheeks to the heat, instead of how she was _still_ flustered by sudden proximity to her wife, after all this time. Byleth’s hand slid up Edelgard’s neck, wetting down the bone-white baby hairs there. Tenderly, slowly, she brought their lips together in a surprisingly chaste kiss.

Despite the tooth-rotting sweetness, Edelgard couldn’t resist parting her lips, taking in Byleth’s hot breath and sliding her tongue gently forwards. She felt Byleth smile before opening her mouth, deepening the kiss. For a few moments, they laid there like that, just luxuriating in each others’ arms and tastes. Edelgard slid an arm around Byleth’s waist, pulling her close and noting the thrill of heat that was pooling low in her stomach as they kissed.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to conclude the year, love,” Edelgard breathed, pressing her forehead against Byleth’s, sticky with sweat and steam.

“Me neither.”

The snow fell to the ground in hushed whispers and melted onto their warm skin. Together, in this picture-perfect wonderland, they fit together like a blade in its sheath, and they had all the time in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first edeleth fic and i NEED you all to know that i think about them constantly. thanks  
> catch me on twitter for more edeleth rantings <33 https://twitter.com/lytiic
> 
> (also i will hopefully be updating with a smutty chapter soon, stay tuned :'3 )


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